Actor Vinay Forrt, whose Thamasha released in theatres on Wednesday, said that his character in the film, a young college professor, doesn’t resemble the popular comic role he played in Alphonse Putheren’s Premam. “Both the characters are college lecturers, they are bald and they harbour a crush on a colleague. But apart from that, there is nothing similar between them. People who watched the film said that Sreenivasan was a unique character, far different from Vimal sir. Since it’s an opportunity so huge, I wanted to do it in the most perfect way, present an entirely new character. People who have seen the film told me that they could see an entirely different person on the screen,” says the 36-year-old actor.
The film, known to be a remake of Kannada film Ondu Motteya Kathe, is produced by four big names in the industry – cinematographers Samir Thahir and Shyju Khalid, director Lijo Jose Pallissery, and actor Chemban Vinod Jose. It is directed by debutante Ashraf Hamza. The film has Divya Prabha, Grace Antony and Chinnu Chandni playing pivotal roles.
Forrt, whose made his debut in Shyamaprasad’s Rithu in 2019, is an alumni of Film And Television Of India, Pune. He is known for playing the affable auto-rickshaw driver in Joy Mathew’s Shutter (2012), and the college lecturer in Premam.
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Speaking on portraying a sensitive subject like body-shaming on screen, Forrt said, “I treated him like a normal human being. The problems he suffers from are similar to those that an average adult faces. I don’t agree with this recent trend of insisting on political correctness in films. For instance, while I am against harassing female characters on screen just for the sake of it, I can’t say that violence against women shouldn’t be shown at all in films.” He added that he has little interest in political debates around cinema, and termed the controversies around Sreenivasan’s vintage films such as Vadakkunokkiyanthram and Sandesham unnecessary.